When the Time is Right
by Croutonic Sarcasm
Summary: Hidan wears his headband around his neck like a girl, and Kakuzu is determined to find out why. Hidan never ever takes it off, but tells Kakuzu that he'll know eventually. What's up with that darn headband! Shonen-ai touches, T for Hidan's mouth


-1

Title suggestions:

When the time is right

(That's all I can think of. xD)

Author's Note: I just re-found this story within my mind from when I was in second grade, though, of course, it did not include the Akatsuki men. XD But I liked it and I'm going to add Hidan and Kakuzu. Naruto isn't mine, copyright Masashi Kishimoto. I hope you like it too~

A finger was pointed in the silver-haired boy's face roughly, breaking his intense concentration of creating a superb sand castle within the confines of the sandbox. Magenta eyes blinked at the tan finger, then traveled slowly up to the person who owned it, seeing a boy with black hair and stitches across his face and short, stout body. "You look like a girl!" The boy exclaimed in a nasty tone, mocking the silverette. His green eyes were screwed up with childish determination to cut down the boy sitting before him.

The silver-haired boy stood up, brushing sand off his pants with a clumsy motion, tearing a small hole in the blue pants he wore. He didn't notice, however, instead glaring up at the taller boy, shirt long since discarded in favor of baring his chest, it was a bit too hot for a shirt anyway. Hidan's face was still chubby with baby fat, his body thick and soft, mouth set in a stubborn pout. "You're a... a fucker!" He replied with equal intensity, meaning to shock the other with language he had been slapped for.

The ebony-haired boy recoiled in surprise, a small hiss escaping his parted lips, the stitches on his body tensing. A moment later, however, he was back on the offensive. "At least I don't wear my headband on my neck like a girl!" He pointed out, thick digit indicating the Yugakure headband around the younger's neck, tied tightly but not enough to choke him. "Konan said only girls do that because they wanna look small and weak." He added, looking superior with knowledge he had garnished from the woman who took care of the orphans, crossing his arms as he had seen grown-ups do when angry.

Silver-hair scowled, though the expression was more akin to crying, his eight year old psyche unable to deal with insults to his gender very well. "I do not." He whined, putting hands on his hips with a fierce expression. "I'll beat you up!" He added threateningly, even going so far as to make a weak fist with his small hand and waving it in the other's direction. "Leader or not, Kakuzu-san, I'll hurt you bad!" He was unafraid of challenging the authority that older age had conferred upon Kakuzu, startling Kakuzu and making him pause to think.

It was true that the silverette was vicious and not the social type; it was why he was there, it was why all of the orphans were there. But even at the mighty age of twelve, Kakuzu couldn't come up with a way to rebuff the other without getting in a fight, and fights weren't tolerated in the Akatsuki. Leader-sama (the guy the children rarely saw but only knew as shadowy authority) had given Kakuzu the rank of Leader as well, knowing that the boy's desire to control and govern adapted well to shuffling the children into line. Of course, the chubby child had demanded payment, which Leader-sama had bemusedly agreed to; after all, a dollar a week was a comfortable price. But if Kakuzu got in a fight, all that (and the money too) would be taken away.

Kakuzu let a frown flicker across his features, taking a step closer to the boy. "Hidan, wear it like a boy!" He said snarkily. "'I'll pull off that stupid headband and throw it away!" It was Hidan's turn to recoil, his small hands grabbing at the blue headband that offended Kakuzu so, though careful not to even give it a millimeter's slack.

"Konan said not to touch it!" Hidan replied, voice going high in his young paranoid hysteria, causing a nearby boy to glance over from his own great project, the blond hair almost matching the sand in the box Hidan stood in. "It's mine and I'll wear it how I wanna wear it and you can't stop me!"

The blond's blue eyes blinked, tilting his head curiously before wandering off to tug on a blue-haired woman's skirt and wordlessly motioned over to Hidan and Kakuzu, the first looking ready to fight, the second appraising whether the fight would be worth it. Konan knelt down to the blond's height, Deidara sticking a fat fist into his mouth to gnaw on, adult teeth growing where the child teeth fell free. "What is it, Deidara honey?" She asked in a smooth voice, soothing the agitated Deidara.

The blond wordlessly pointed over to Hidan and Kakuzu again, face screwing up in thought. After a moment of deliberation, the hand was freed from his mouth and he pointed to the boys again, disliking the need to speak. "You have to talk, you know." Konan said gently, pushing down on his arm softly. "You can't point all the time."

Deidara let a sandal clad foot stomp on the ground in frustration before shooting a dirty glance at the woman. "Bang!" He finally articulated his thoughts into words, clapping to emphasize the point of discord. A silly grin spread across his face; he had liked the sound. "Bang! Bang!" He giggled, repeating the motion as he trotted away, content with his day.

Konan sighed, standing and brushing some dirt off of her white blouse before walking over to the fiercely glaring boys, grasping Hidan and Kakuzu by a hand each. The boys jumped and gave soft sounds of surprise, Kakuzu giving a fearful glance at the person with authority, Hidan feeling justified and supported. "Konan-san, Konan-san, he called me a girl!" He said as if it were a crime. Konan smiled lightly, walking with the boys to the building, Hidan's satisfied smirk falling from his face with each step. They were heading to the grown-up place, where Leader-sama stayed.

"Now boys, we can't have fights..." She began, walking at a slow pace for the shorter boys to keep up with her more easily, starting a lecture they had heard a million times and would hear a million times after. "Hidan has a reason for his headband, and one day, you'll know when the time is right."

******************************

Hidan lounged on a brick wall like a lazy lion, back to the concrete wall of the building he had feared so when young, though now, it was just a place where he took lessons. His jeans were loose, almost falling off of his hips when he stood, the unbuttoned shirt flowing in the light breeze of the day as he stood. Kakuzu sat nearby, doing his work studiously, as was expected of a senior in high school and pulling up his mask every few minutes when it slipped too low and revealed the stitching on his cheeks, Hidan's own freshman work sprawled across the grass as though it had been hit with a tornado. The papers were in haphazard piles, math mixed in with essay prompts lying next to earth science homework that was incomplete from the first day of school.

Hidan poked at Kakuzu with his toe, free of the sandals usually worn within the school. The older boy retaliated with a swift jab of his pen to the toe in question, making Hidan yelp and snap his foot back to his body, though there was only black ink smeared on the large digit. He glared at Kakuzu, then snickered. "You're seriously working on that shit still?" He asked, scratching the back of his neck under the headband, careful not to dislodge it even a bit from its position.

"Unlike you, I plan on graduating so I can get into college to get a better job and a lot more money." He answered easily, green eyes not leaving the Calculus homework before him. Things had changed in the past ten years, more than either cared to admit. Aesthetically, they were now men; Hidan's body was lithe and graceful but powerful, like a black panther waiting for the opportunity to strike. He smirked, touching the pendant around his neck in habit. It was a rosary, the silver beads gleaming in the dull light of the overcast sky, the pendant a circle with and inverted triangle within it, the symbol of Hidan's deity.

Kakuzu was bigger, more masculine and more violent, if it were possible to be more violent than the boy next to himself, regularly given to fights and known to be an unstoppable force. Kakuzu, though, was in an altogether difference league. Kakuzu was psychotic, without question, his fights ending with hospital visits and many broken bones on the helpless opponent's side, anger flaring with little reason or cause. He had been given medication for anger management, but Kakuzu didn't use them, instead, he sold them for a pretty profit, content with randomly getting in trouble with the law for assault.

"Come on, man, let's hit the mall or even Deidara's place. I heard he even got Itachi in on the party tonight." Hidan grinned, flicking the pendant so that the shining reflection covered the math problem Kakuzu was currently engaged in solving, slender fingers making the manipulation of the metal simple.

Kakuzu swatted at Hidan, who just rolled away with a laugh, noting with no uncertain satisfaction as Kakuzu picked all of his things up and put them in his backpack precisely, each item into its neat slot. Hidan grabbed his mess of paper and shoved it into his black messenger bag, then slinging it over his shoulder, hand automatically touching a hidden pocket within the bag to assure himself that its contents were still there; the small scarlet pocketknife his reputation centered around. A few minutes later at the blond's house, both boys dumped their things on the floor, leading to the living room where the rest of the orphaned group hung out. Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, Madara, and Zetsu and now, Hidan and Kakuzu.

Kakuzu and Hidan flopped down into the only available chair, fine with sharing. After all, once their differences of childish immaturity had passed, each had realized the other wasn't really that bad. A fierce friendship developed, then a relationship. Hidan sat on Kakuzu's lap, making Kakuzu expel a gust of air, not expecting Hidan to sit down so heavily. "Fatass, don't do that." He teased, putting his arms around Hidan's waist and pulling him flush with himself.

Hidan just laughed and leaned back into the reassuring strength of Kakuzu's torso, head resting lightly on Kakuzu's broad shoulder. "You're one to talk, fucking crushing me when you kiss me." He replied, a twinkle in his eye before turned his head to glance out to the rest of the group, noting that Deidara had a new device ready to blow, talking animatedly to Sasori about where to place it. Deidara regularly created explosives, something to do with an obsession over the word "bang" made Hidan think he had a few screws loose but hey, what did Hidan care as long as he didn't get caught in a blast? Deidara was always careful to warn friends to move away, so it was fine.

Kakuzu just gave a grumbling laugh, nuzzling Hidan's shoulder lightly, making the silver-haired boy pull away at the feeling and give Kakuzu a mischievous glance. Kakuzu continued, carefully tracing his way to Hidan's back, then up his spine. Just before he got to the cloth of the headband, however, Hidan leapt up with a grin, waving a finger in a tsking motion."Nu uh uh, you'll know why I wear it when the time is right." His grin grew as Kakuzu gave an exasperated sigh.

"When will that be?" He asked, deadly curious to know, but knowing that he'd have to wait until Hidan let him. It was just one of those things he had to wait for, but Kakuzu wasn't a patient person. Either way, he knew that if he didn't have permission, it wasn't going to happen. Hidan shrugged in reply.

"Whenever the time is right." He answered simply, plopping back down on Kakuzu's lap with a smile, kissing his lover and snuggling close to wait out the boring night.

**************************

Hidan glanced over from the living room in the house he and Kakuzu owned, hands full with dishes of food he had made especially for this occasion. Any minute now, Kakuzu would walk in that door from work–!

Indeed, before the thought could be completed, Kakuzu was opening the door, seeing a foolishly grinning Hidan set down the trays of appetizing food. Kakuzu tilted his head back, tugging down his black mask and closing his eyes to inhale deeply with a pleased expression. "Smells good." He said, careful to make the words into a mutter; Hidan would only believe it if he thought Kakuzu hadn't meant for him to hear it. He sat down across the table from his husband, grabbing the salt and upending it above his food. A moment later, Hidan grasped his wrist tightly and snatched the salt.

"Your heart is going to explode from salt!" Hidan cried out, setting the salt carefully out of Kakuzu's reach after tapping the sodium over his own food. He licked his lips, unable to take his eyes off of the meal he had worked hard for after his own job, wanting to surprise Kakuzu with a treat. Kakuzu waved Hidan away with a half playful grunt, and took a bite of the food.

After chewing and swallowing, Hidan looking at Kakuzu expectantly for a reaction, Kakuzu screwed up his eyes as though something was wrong, Hidan's face instantly falling. "Needs... salt." He stated finally, making Hidan burst out into laughter, then dug in eagerly to his own portion. After both appetites were satiated, they cleared the table away and sat down on the couch, not so close as they had in youth. Touches weren't as common as they had been, their nights positively bland in comparison, but they didn't have hormones raging through their bodies, didn't have the need to be perfect and sexual every moment. They knew their place in the world and it was with their other, Kakuzu and Hidan. Even the names sounded right coming after each other.

Hidan reached over to grasp Kakuzu's hand before intertwining his fingers with those of the tanned man next to him, a smile fighting with the urge to act stoic. Kakuzu let a slight smile grace his lips for a moment, holding onto Hidan's hand. It was their thirtieth anniversary. Thirtieth year they had been together, from high school to now in their forties. Life was perfect. Kakuzu reached over to brush his hand down Hidan's face, still so smooth and perfect, looking as young as he had when twenty-five. It was amazing, and Kakuzu had never seen anybody age so well. Hidan nuzzled into the hand, tanned fingers turning to hold the soft cheek of his lover, a smile no longer so fleeting on sutured lips.

The hand held him for a moment more, then slipped down the shirtless man's neck, brushing up against the tired, slightly worn headband the Jashinist had worn from the time he was a little child, the only thing different a slash through the symbol when they had eloped from the Akatsuki when young, deciding to carve their own path in the world. The cloth was growing weaker but Hidan refused any substitute, claiming the one he wore was perfect and Jashin-given. Kakuzu, for his part, didn't believe in Jashin, but didn't question his fanatical husband. The headband should of long since rotted away, but then again, Hidan should look older than his mid twenties too. Kakuzu just chose not to question certain things.

Kakuzu paused, feeling the coarse thread of the band under his fingers, a momentary urge to rip it away flashing through is mind. Hidan's violet eyes were fixed upon Kakuzu's green, his body tensed slightly as though he was unsure of how to react, but pure trust radiated towards the larger male. After closing his eyes and letting out an amused huff, Hidan was gathered into Kakuzu's arms and deposited on Kakuzu's lap, the strong arms encircling his waist to adjust him there. Kakuzu's right arm detached from Hidan, however, touching the fraying cloth and letting his calloused fingers pass over the material, catching occasionally on a snarl.

"So," Kakuzu asked, "is it time yet?" He asked. Even then, Hidan had not allowed the man before him to ever see him without the headband, not during a shower, not during sex, not even when he went skinny dipping at Itachi's house once. Hidan smiled knowingly, but shook his head gently.

"Not yet," said he, "not quite yet. The time isn't right." Kakuzu huffed once, but didn't press further, though mighty curious. He knew that if he waited, he'd eventually know.

"Fine... but I will know eventually, right? Hell, even Konan said I'd know eventually!" Kakuzu semi-protested the lack of information.

Hidan let out another laugh, squirming in Kakuzu's lap to face the man's face. "Yeah, I swear to Jashin, alright? Keep your britches on." He grinned, then stood, tugging on Kakuzu and backstepping to their bedroom, beckoning Kakuzu with his free hand in a "come hither" motion. Kakuzu followed easily. "I have something else to show you tonight..." He laughed.

***********************

Hidan lay in the bed, years having taken their toll on his pretty face, withered him with age and made him frail. So frail, but still with an acidic tongue. Who would of known that he had a disease that would suddenly ravage his perfect body, robbing him of years he had to live with Kakuzu? Kakuzu sat at Hidan's bedside, hating the hospital, but rather than his usual whine about money, he hated it because of what it represented. Kakuzu held Hidan's thin hand, Kakuzu seeming alarmingly large compared to the emaciated man in the starched, snow white sheets. Time had really reversed things; Kakuzu now looked young, keeping his looks from his forties without more than a few wrinkles, but Hidan... He was a skeleton, almost, gaunt and his skin pulled taut. Even his breaths were wheezing.

A tear slid down Kakuzu's cheek, all the way down to his chin to fall to his chest and darkened the cloth there, so occupied with watching over Hidan that his mask was long since discarded in favor of giving small, feathery kisses in the vain hope that it would somehow help Hidan live. But nothing worked, and though the doctors were constantly suggesting new things, they all knew Hidan was dying.

Another breath wheezed in and out of Hidan's lips, choking for a moment, a stick-thin hand reaching up to his neck to touch the withered headband, though still tight and strong in the middle. It seemed heavy, so heavy, as though it would pull him down, it would be so much easier to just... loosen it.

"Kakuzu..." Hidan said, his voice as insubstantial as a feather. Kakuzu instantly leaned closer to hear better. "You can... take it off now." He whispered, the words taking enormous effort. He was just so tired. He felt stretched thin, like play dough spread too thinly and left out of its container too often to be pliable anymore.

Kakuzu's emerald eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't question, hands going to the headband and touching it lightly. The knot was undone, he could see, behind Hidan's head; a small tug and it would slide free. Kakuzu pulled on it gently, careful not to tug too roughly and hurt his lover.

Free of the confinement of the headband he had worn his whole life, Hidan sighed in contentment, feeling complete and free as his head rolled off his neck and into Kakuzu's lap.


End file.
